Saturday, November 5, 2022

It's Great to be Eight!

 Brynnli is eight which means she is old enough to make the decision to be baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 


A few weeks before her baptism we took some pictures of her in her beautiful white dress. She looks so grown up and so, so beautiful!! Brynnli is such a beautiful girl inside and out. 












Then it was finally her baptism day. I love that Tyler is the one who gets to baptize and confirm her. I love even more Brynnli's desire to follow Jesus' example. Brynnli is such a good kid and always tries to make right choices. I know she is making such an important decision by promising to always remember Him. 



Caden gave a great talk on baptism and Makayla played "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" then Brynnli was baptized. We are not allowed to take pictures of the baptism ordinance, but it was great. Brynnli said the water was warm. After the baptism, I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost with the help of her cousins and siblings. Then Tyler confirmed her as a member of the church and gave her a beautiful blessing. 

Things were a little hectic after the baptism, and we didn't get a picture of everyone who came, but here's a few of the family members who were there for Brynn's special day. 



We love you Brynnli and are so proud of your decision to be baptized. You are such an amazing young girl and know that there are so many wonderful things in store for your life. 

Monday, October 31, 2022

Spooky Fun

 October has been so much fun. In addition to going to Disneyland we have done so many fun things to celebrate fall. We hit the South Jordan Farmer's Market again and this time the kids got to make slime. 

With our season passes to Lagoon coming to an end, we have been trying to hit all of the last rides so that the kids can say they went on every ride at Lagoon this year. We were able to check two rides off our list this trip: 


During October Lagoon turns into Frightmares with a lot of Halloween-themed areas, haunted houses, and corn mazes.





At the end of the Lagoon season, the only ride the kids were never able to go on was Cliffhanger. We give this ride two thumbs down. During Frightmares they put skeletons on the ride... probably because they died waiting for the ride to work. 


These creeps look scary, but they can dance! 


What's funnier? Tyler or Makayla?
We loved our Lagoon season passports and can't wait for next season. Do you think next year Brynn will still fit in the baby stroller? 

The girls had a dance convention, so me and the boys headed to Leatherby's. Caden loved his ice cream. 
This picture would be better if it was a picture of my feet on the beach, but nestled up cozy by the fire pit will have to do. 

Have you met our Handsome California Dream Boat? His name is Caden. 
Stand back, girls... He's only 10. 
Caden had his last basketball team with the Outlaws team. 

I really loved this team, and I especially love how his coach was so patient with Caden. Unfortunately, the other team members decided not to come back for another season, so we are looking for a new competitive team for Caden to join. 

Ok, funny story about this picture. A lot of years ago Lance was getting his Doctorate degree from Wake Forest University. They took this picture of him and it ended up on the cover of their course catalog...you know the one the shcool used to give out that explained the class and the time and place the class was offered... back before it was posted on the internet. So Lance got a bunch of copies and he gave them to all of our family, because how cool is it that Lance was on the cover.  One night my 90 year old Grandma and Grandpa Thomas called to tell us that they try to read a little from Lance's book every night. We didn't have the heart to tell them that 1) he didn't write it 2) it wasn't a novel and 3) we knew they didn't read it because who would read a course catalog? It became a joke in our family that Lance wrote a book. 

But I had to chuckle when I walked into my parent's house and saw "Lance's book" sitting on the table right as you walk in. It's clear that Lance and I are the favorite children. 

Arrh... It's a pirate says I. 
And a kitty. 
Ok, but seriously, how cute is Bella in her Halloween costume? She's the cutest pirate dog!!

Caden and my dad love the Jazz, although I think they spent most of the time yelling at the refs. 
Crazy hair day at school!




I am so sad because this is the last year Odyssey Dance Theatre is showcasing their performance of Thriller. They have about 20 dances that are all Halloween themed and they are all so good. My favorite dances are the Mummy dance, Dem Bones, and Children of the Corn. I remember going to Thriller in high school and I have gone almost every year since then. Since it is their last performance and I have two girls who love to dance, I decided to take them. 

Don't let these smiles fool you, they were so scared of the zombies. 

I'm so sad I will never get to see Thriller again. 

We had our Halloween party at Tracy and Jeremy's this year. Makayla dressed up as a creepy doll, Caden was a skeleton, Brynnli was a flight attendant, I was a "Karen" and Tyler was Slim Shady. 
Tyler totally wins the best costume this year. While cleaning our their house, Craig found Tyler's Jnco pants from when he was in 7th grade. It's hard to tell in this picture, but the pant legs are huge!!! He totally passes for a rapper. My costume was so easy. I found a shirt online that said, "I need to speak to the manager" and I had my coffee, Stanley cup, and Swig cup. I mean, that's pretty normal for me anyway.

We all had fun carving pumpkins




We also celebrated Carson and Camden's birthday party. Tyler and I found this blanket Karen gave to Tyler when Carson was born. We decided to gift it to Carson for his birthday. We all had a good laugh and can't wait to see the blanket on Carson's bed. 
Halloween parade at the kids' school is one of my favorite days. Brynnli had a tray of snacks with hers. 




The 6th graders learn the Thriller dance and perform it for all the parents before the parade. This is Makayla with her cute group of friends who all dressed up as creepy dolls. 
I love to yell the kids' names and wave obnoxiously as they walk by us in the parade. Some of them like it more than others. 



Our traditional Halloween dinner was a little different this year because we were one kid short of a full family. Makayla got invited to her friend's house after school for dinner and then they all went out trick or treating. It was kind of sad without her, but I think she had fun with her friends. I think this might become the new normal with our kids deciding to hang out with their friends instead of hanging out with us. Sad. 

We still had fun with the younger two eating our mummy dogs and chili. 

Then these two cute kids went out trick or treating together and got way too much candy!! 

Happy Halloween